Significance of Minority Status to Discipline Severity in Prison

• NCJ Number: 99165
• Journal: Sociological Focus Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1985) Pages: 221-233
• Author(s): B M Crouch
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Revised version of paper presented at the American Society of Criminology meeting, Denver, Colorado, 1983.

Annotation

Official discipline for institutional rule violations affects both the quality and amount of time served by prison inmates.

Abstract

This study, carried out in a southern prison, examines the prison discipline process and the factors which influence the severity of punishment inmates receive for institutional rule-breaking. The relevance of minority status to punishment severity is the central focus. Analysis reveals that minority status plays no significant role in official decisions; the best predictors of severity are inmate deviant behavior and anti-authority attidudes. Reasons for these results are discussed. (Publisher abstract)